Page 39 of My Guardian Gryphon

She gave a half-hearted snort of protest, but followed orders anyway, taking a piece of the semi-glowing, pixie-dust-infused treat and popping it into her mouth. The moan that slipped from her throat the next second made Jared blush and my own face heat just slightly.

“By the Mother, that is the best chocolate I’ve ever eaten.” She swiped two more from the box, consuming them quickly. “Where does she keep these in the store?”

Jared smiled at the now-radiant Meredith. Her skin was bright. The circles were gone, and her eyes sparkled with energy again. Even her hair glistened with health.

“They were a special order, just for you and your sister.”

“Well, please thank her for me when you leave. Come on in.” She waved over her shoulder, beckoning us to follow her inside.

The house was dark and smelled like burnt herbs and spices. I wrinkled my nose and tried to breathe through my mouth.

“It keeps us focused. We trade every three hours. Used to be four or five, but we can’t take it for that long anymore. Dad takes a shift anytime he’s here. In fact,” she glanced at the old grandfather clock against the wall, “he should be here any minute. He can still handle the magick field for eight hours straight. Then we both get a shower and some sleep.”

Meredith led us down another hallway and into a small bedroom lit with only a circle of candles. The windows had been boarded up and all the furniture had been removed. The eight-pointed star of Ishtar had been drawn on the hardwood floors in white chalk. A ring of lit candles created the circle around the points. Hannah sat cross-legged in the center of the star. Her eyes were open, but they were white and absent. Words I didn’t understand spilled in whispers from her mouth. A certain string over and over, repeated like a drone—no emotion, no consciousness.

Her skin, even in the dim light, was sallow like Meredith’s had been. “You can’t keep this going much longer, can you?” Even with pixie-dust aiding their energy, there was no way Rose could expect them to keep this up. Maybe a day or two more. Maybe.

“Probably not, Dad will help while he’s here for the weekend. Maybe if he stayed, but Rose has him traveling a long way now to find…people.” Meredith stepped over the candle ring into the circle and sat down with her back to her sister’s back. “She’ll wake up in a few minutes. Please wait for her before you leave. She needs some of that chocolate, too.”

Jared nodded. “Of course.”

Meredith started the chant, and moments later, her eyes turned white and she ceased to be present. We waited. Minutes ticked by and still Hannah hadn’t budged. Her eyes were still wide open and as white as snow on a mountaintop. She wasn’t chanting anymore, just listing back and forth, like her body was in sync with some sort of music only she could hear.

I nudged Jared toward the circle. “It’s been longer than she said.”

“I’m not stepping in there. What if I do something wrong?”

“Hannah. Meredith.” A deep bass voice boomed from the front of the house. Footsteps thumped as their father made his way to the bedroom where we stood waiting for Hannah to wake up or snap out of it or something.

“What are you two doing here?” Bateman crossed his arms and gave us the body glance, like he was sizing up a couple of teenage boys who wanted to take his daughters to a dance.

Jared held up the bag from Bella, deflecting Harrison’s attention from me. “Bella sent energy chocolate and a few other things for them.”

“I meant why are you back here?” Bateman’s voice deepened further, laced with the protective I’m-their-father-and-you-have-no-business-in-their-bedroom tone.

“First off, I’m not a kid so don’t treat me like one. Second of all, Meredith asked us to wait for Hannah to wake up.” My tone was angrier than it should’ve been with a concerned father, but my taking-shit meter was full-up today. Jared gave me a worried glance then turned his attention back to the pissed-off daddy-witch.

“He just meant we were checking on the girls. Bella sends food and stuff to make sure they are getting enough to eat and—”

“You can leave now. I’ll take care of anything my daughters need.”

Jared nodded, putting the grocery bag on the floor next to the wall. “Not a problem, Mr. Bateman.”

We backtracked and left faster than I would’ve liked. Something had Harrison Bateman in a bind, but we didn’t have a beef with the witch and we needed them to protect the town.

“I wonder if the barrier is weaker when they change shifts?” Jared said, turning off the sidewalk toward Main Street Circle. “The attacks are coming more often now. Riley said they’ve tracked multiple Lycan/Djinn teams moving through the town over the last few days.”

“So that last attack wasn’t an isolated incident?”

Jared shook his head.

“Why aren’t people telling me things?”

“Because you’re huge and grumpy and I’m telling you now. After seeing Meredith and Hannah, I don’t think the barrier is as strong as it used to be. And—”

“And you think when they switch it’s letting them in?”

He nodded, a solemn look casting a shadow of concern across his face. “I think if they figure out there’s a pattern to the weakness, we are in deep shit.”

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